Feedforward: A Better Way to Talk About Performance Review

By Dr. Vic | Feb 27th, 2025 | Employee engagement, HR consulting, Leadership, Management consulting, Organizational development, People management, | 0 Comments

The process of giving and receiving performance feedback is broken. To fix it, leaders can substitute the positive, forward looking process called feedforward: Insights from Dr. Vic on how to turn the dreaded annual or periodic performance review feedback into feedforward previews with Q&A and employees’ self review.

The process of giving and receiving performance feedback is widely unpopular. For those receiving feedback, it can feel threatening and demoralizing. For those providing feedback, it can cause stress and anxiety. The result is often avoidance and delay, which only makes things worse.

Feedforward is a different approach that can improve the performance appraisal process for everyone involved. Rather than focusing on a past that no one can change, feedforward looks to the future. Instead of leaders “telling” their team members what went wrong, the process focuses on “asking” what went right and how to build on that success. Using the feedforward method, the dreaded quarterly or annual review, or worse, an “autopsy“, can be turned into a more motivating and empowering annual/quarterly or even monthly preview.

This article will look at the challenges of giving and receiving traditional feedback, how the feedforward process is different, and how to use performance appraisals as tools for growth.

Traditional feedback and the cracked mirror

A study reported in ScienceDirect found that traditional feedback results in performance improvements just one-third of the time. In two out of three cases, feedback either results in no improvement or worse, in withdrawal and disengagement.

Negative feedback creates more heat than light, the authors say. Employees often “remain unaware how to improve their performance based on their appraisal.” Without positive, actionable steps, negative feedback fuels resentment, not improvement.

Even positive feedback can have negative consequences if it doesn’t meet employee perceptions. That’s particularly true of highly motivated people, whose self-image may be closely tied to their working lives. Telling high achievers they have only “met expectations” can feel like a slap in the face.

Both positive and negative feedback can fall into the traps of subjectivity and “recency bias,” which results in a focus on the latest events instead of the whole review period. And there’s little room for employees to complain without being labeled as “difficult” or “not a team player.”

The Harvard Business Review argues that the imbalance of power in the workplace “allows only one view – the manager’s – to prevail.” And the author argues that managers and leaders routinely “ignore, distort, and overlook details related to an employee’s work.” Employees are nonetheless expected to remain stoic and accept criticism, even if they find it unfair, unwarranted, and unhelpful. Little wonder the system induces dread all around.

Traditional feedback can be thought of as a distorted reflection in a cracked mirror. It’s often inaccurate and rarely helpful.

Using feedforward to mend the cracked mirror

The feedforward process. The feedforward process was developed by Marshall Goldsmith. As he describes it, feedforward is a group exercise in which people are asked to play two roles, advice seeker and advice giver. The advice is called “feedforward” to emphasize its forward-looking, future orientation. Here is a brief version of Goldsmith’s outline of the feedforward process:

Pick one behavior you would like to change;
Describe the behavior to another person and ask for two suggestions that might help achieve positive future change;
Listen attentively and take notes while remaining silent;
Say “thank you” to the feedforward giver and move on.

Participants switch between being the feedforward seeker and feedforward giver until everyone in the group has had the chance to interact. Goldsmith cites several benefits of the feedforward method, including:

We can change the future but not the past.
Focusing on positive change eliminates blame and defensiveness.
Feedforward doesn’t imply judgment or criticism of the listener.
Feedforward is more efficient than feedback while covering much the same ground.

Unfortunately, Goldsmith doesn’t describe how feedforward might operate in the workplace, other than signing up for his seminars. Fortunately, there’s another way forward.

Holding up the mirror. Without mentioning “feedforward,” a 2020 Harvard Business Review article captures its essence. Instead of a model based on power and hierarchy – in which the leader diagnoses problems and prescribes remedies – the author suggests a “humbler approach to managing people that focuses on asking questions, not giving orders.”

The author distinguishes what he calls “window gazing” from “mirror holding.” Window gazing refers to different people looking out the same window and seeing different things. The two views may be equally valid, but in a traditional performance appraisal only the leader’s view counts.

“Mirror holding” changes the traditional dynamic by calling on the leader to ask questions and participate in a two-way conversation. Here are some questions leaders can ask to get the process started:

What personal strengths have you found helpful in getting this work done?
What parts of the work have you found most energizing?
How has working on this project helped you learn about yourself?

To probe challenges, the leader might ask:

What is the outcome you’d like to see?
What’s getting in the way? Why do you think the problem is happening?
What alternatives have you tried? How have you approached these challenges before?

Finally, to shape the path forward, the leader can ask:

What’s preventing you from achieving your goals?
What steps do you think you’ll take next?
What would happen if you tried this suggestion?
How can I help you to be successful?

By engaging in a dialog, seeking the employee’s perspective, and helping craft solutions focused on the future, the leader can avoid the negative aspects of “feedback” and reap the positive benefits of “feedforward.”

“[Leaders] engage employees in thoughtful conversation about their current strengths, future goals, and how to bring those elements closer in line. Rather than offer directives, [leaders] ask probing questions that help them better understand the picture of work and entrust their employees with opportunities to shape the way forward.” The same Harvard Business Review describes the feedforward method in a nutshell.

If you would like to learn more about performance management and feedforward, please contact us.

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